Step 3

Hypothesis

Nucleotide changes.

What would happen if we tried to change the G-Quadruplex
nucleotide?

Our hypothesis consists of a computer simulated
synthesis of a G-Quadruplex derivative. Thisderivative, which we will refer to
as "GA-Quadruplex" from here on, would consist, not only of a guanine
base, but also affects to an adenine, as well.

We strongly believe that by doing this, we
could guarantee a greater stability of the 3´ telomere end. The reason why we
believe its stability would be greater, is because the adenine would build
hydrogen bonds with thymine, which is one of the most abundant bases in this
region, due to the repetition of the telomeric sequence 5´TTAGGG 3´. Moreover,
in order to guarantee an even stronger stability of this potential inhibitor,
we could add Phosphorus compounds to the radicals of the molecule.

We will see
in future stages of the experiment how this inhibitor reacts in relation to the
active centre of the catalytic telomerase subunit, and how it reacts with the
telomeric DNA strand.